YouGov lifted by fresh contract wins and Middle Eastern growth

Oliver Smith is a senior reporter at The Memo, an online publication curious about the future of technology. He was formerly a reporter at City A.M.

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ONLINE market research agency YouGov reported a 13 per cent rise in profits to £6.8m for the year to July, on the back of a number of new contracts from Barclays, Blackrock and ITV.

Revenues from the pollster jumped eight per cent to £62.6m boosted by growth emerging from the company’s Middle East operations, which rose 22 per cent.

Chief executive Stephan Shakespeare, who writes a weekly column for City A.M., said the growth in the region is “based on corporate and political communication that are really of a piece with the development of the region. There are a lot of positive signs out there, and we understand the region pretty well.”

YouGov increased its dividend by 20 per cent to 0.6p per share as part of its progressive dividend policy.